Guest verthib Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 The problem I have with Natural Balance is the the sweet potatoes are listed first not meat. The protein content is only around 20 to 21%. Right. It's named Sweet Potato & Fish Formula for that reason. It has more sweet potato by weight than any other ingredient. However, salmon & salmon meal are the next two ingredients. We do not actually know how much of each ingredient is used so the total of fish & fish meal might outweigh the sweet potato. Also, it is sweet potato not sweet potato flour that is the first ingredient. So we do not know how much sweet potato there would be if the water was removed. So again the fish:sweet potato ratio might be better than we think. As you point out though. The protein content might be the give away. Not all dogs need a high protein content, particularly of they're older. It works fine for us. They get 4 stars on Dog Food Advisor too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kudzu Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 Not all dogs need a high protein content, particularly of they're older. It works fine for us. They get 4 stars on Dog Food Advisor too. I was not a comment on the quality of the food nor those who feed it. It was an observation that the order in which the ingredients are listed only goes so far in determining how much of each is truly in it. The amount of protein in the food can indeed give a clue to how much meat or fish is in it. Simple as that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greyhoundlady Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 Finding a food that works is always a challenge. So many factors go into it, most of which is how the dog is tolerating it. I have my grey on Natural Balance Sweet Potato and Bison dry and then add in some canned Natural Balance Beef or Venison. It is a food that is finally working for him. He was on TOTW but his poop was very mushy. Now things have firmed up. His coat is super shiny and he looks great. I also give him the Natural Balance beef roll in his Kong for a treat. You have to just try different things to see what works. What works for one, doesn't always work for another, as you can see from the posts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greys4ever Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 Rhoda LOVES Newman's own dry dog food. She always gets meat on top, but she eats every bite. Our cat also loves the dog food. Our cat is 11 and was losing weight because she didn't want to eat the premium cat food we were feeding her. I hope there aren't problems with the cat eating the dog food, any thoughts on that anyone? Cats have special dietary needs that are not fulfilled from dog food. (ie taurine). Is she still eating dog food as her primary food source? OT I know but a life depends on it. Please ensure that your cat's diet is based on cat food. As verthib has noted, cat's have different dietary needs from dogs. The mention of taurine is a very important example. Cats cannot manufacture taurine & must get it from their food. Cats eating primarily dog food can develop health problems including heart disease & blindness. I know a couple people who found this out the hard way. Story on both cats is that they like to eat out of the dogs' bowls. The blind cat lived years longer after being switched to cat food. Sadly, the cat with the damaged heart did not. Sorry to sound so grim. Rhoda LOVES Newman's own dry dog food. She always gets meat on top, but she eats every bite. Our cat also loves the dog food. Our cat is 11 and was losing weight because she didn't want to eat the premium cat food we were feeding her. I hope there aren't problems with the cat eating the dog food, any thoughts on that anyone? Cats have special dietary needs that are not fulfilled from dog food. (ie taurine). Is she still eating dog food as her primary food source? OT I know but a life depends on it. Please ensure that your cat's diet is based on cat food. As verthib has noted, cat's have different dietary needs from dogs. The mention of taurine is a very important example. Cats cannot manufacture taurine & must get it from their food. Cats eating primarily dog food can develop health problems including heart disease & blindness. I know a couple people who found this out the hard way. Story on both cats is that they like to eat out of the dogs' bowls. The blind cat lived years longer after being switched to cat food. Sadly, the cat with the damaged heart did not. Sorry to sound so grim. Thanks for the info, I didnn't know about nutrients that cats need. we are trying other cat foods now. If she can't keep her paws off the dog food maybe it will be time for a trip to the vet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest verthib Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 Rhoda LOVES Newman's own dry dog food. She always gets meat on top, but she eats every bite. Our cat also loves the dog food. Our cat is 11 and was losing weight because she didn't want to eat the premium cat food we were feeding her. I hope there aren't problems with the cat eating the dog food, any thoughts on that anyone? Cats have special dietary needs that are not fulfilled from dog food. (ie taurine). Is she still eating dog food as her primary food source? OT I know but a life depends on it. Please ensure that your cat's diet is based on cat food. As verthib has noted, cat's have different dietary needs from dogs. The mention of taurine is a very important example. Cats cannot manufacture taurine & must get it from their food. Cats eating primarily dog food can develop health problems including heart disease & blindness. I know a couple people who found this out the hard way. Story on both cats is that they like to eat out of the dogs' bowls. The blind cat lived years longer after being switched to cat food. Sadly, the cat with the damaged heart did not. Sorry to sound so grim. Rhoda LOVES Newman's own dry dog food. She always gets meat on top, but she eats every bite. Our cat also loves the dog food. Our cat is 11 and was losing weight because she didn't want to eat the premium cat food we were feeding her. I hope there aren't problems with the cat eating the dog food, any thoughts on that anyone? Cats have special dietary needs that are not fulfilled from dog food. (ie taurine). Is she still eating dog food as her primary food source? OT I know but a life depends on it. Please ensure that your cat's diet is based on cat food. As verthib has noted, cat's have different dietary needs from dogs. The mention of taurine is a very important example. Cats cannot manufacture taurine & must get it from their food. Cats eating primarily dog food can develop health problems including heart disease & blindness. I know a couple people who found this out the hard way. Story on both cats is that they like to eat out of the dogs' bowls. The blind cat lived years longer after being switched to cat food. Sadly, the cat with the damaged heart did not. Sorry to sound so grim. Thanks for the info, I didnn't know about nutrients that cats need. we are trying other cat foods now. If she can't keep her paws off the dog food maybe it will be time for a trip to the vet! Can you feed your dog twice a day and then pick up the bowls? We have to do that so our cats don't get into the dog food. And we have our cat food behind a baby gate so the dogs don't eat it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sirsmom Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 The problem I have with Natural Balance is the the sweet potatoes are listed first not meat. The protein content is only around 20 to 21%. Right. It's named Sweet Potato & Fish Formula for that reason. It has more sweet potato by weight than any other ingredient. However, salmon & salmon meal are the next two ingredients. We do not actually know how much of each ingredient is used so the total of fish & fish meal might outweigh the sweet potato. Also, it is sweet potato not sweet potato flour that is the first ingredient. So we do not know how much sweet potato there would be if the water was removed. So again the fish:sweet potato ratio might be better than we think. As you point out though. The protein content might be the give away. Not all dogs need a high protein content, particularly of they're older. It works fine for us. They get 4 stars on Dog Food Advisor too. The dog food advisor is a dentist and has no degrees in dog nutrition. He goes by meat protein vs plant protein boosters which may or may not be desirable for all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest verthib Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 The problem I have with Natural Balance is the the sweet potatoes are listed first not meat. The protein content is only around 20 to 21%. Right. It's named Sweet Potato & Fish Formula for that reason. It has more sweet potato by weight than any other ingredient. However, salmon & salmon meal are the next two ingredients. We do not actually know how much of each ingredient is used so the total of fish & fish meal might outweigh the sweet potato. Also, it is sweet potato not sweet potato flour that is the first ingredient. So we do not know how much sweet potato there would be if the water was removed. So again the fish:sweet potato ratio might be better than we think. As you point out though. The protein content might be the give away. Not all dogs need a high protein content, particularly of they're older. It works fine for us. They get 4 stars on Dog Food Advisor too. The dog food advisor is a dentist and has no degrees in dog nutrition. He goes by meat protein vs plant protein boosters which may or may not be desirable for all. Yes, I know he is. However, generally his reviews are right on. Across the board, many folks find them helpful. I guess some who don't, don't have to pay attention. He rates some foods high that didn't work with my Angus, and that's ok... I just take what information helps me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sirsmom Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 The problem I have with Natural Balance is the the sweet potatoes are listed first not meat. The protein content is only around 20 to 21%. Right. It's named Sweet Potato & Fish Formula for that reason. It has more sweet potato by weight than any other ingredient. However, salmon & salmon meal are the next two ingredients. We do not actually know how much of each ingredient is used so the total of fish & fish meal might outweigh the sweet potato. Also, it is sweet potato not sweet potato flour that is the first ingredient. So we do not know how much sweet potato there would be if the water was removed. So again the fish:sweet potato ratio might be better than we think. As you point out though. The protein content might be the give away. Not all dogs need a high protein content, particularly of they're older. It works fine for us. They get 4 stars on Dog Food Advisor too. The dog food advisor is a dentist and has no degrees in dog nutrition. He goes by meat protein vs plant protein boosters which may or may not be desirable for all. Yes, I know he is. However, generally his reviews are right on. Across the board, many folks find them helpful. I guess some who don't, don't have to pay attention. He rates some foods high that didn't work with my Angus, and that's ok... I just take what information helps me. His reviews may be 'right on' on paper but it's results that count here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MomoftheFuzzy Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 (edited) I concur with anyone who mentioned (grain-free) Taste of the Wild, as we are big proponents of a grain-free dog diet in our house, at least with regards to kibble and any wet food mix-ins (which we give, on occasion). I have found Rocco to do really well on grain-free foods, only. When he was in his foster home, he was having diarrhea issues, perhaps for other reasons, too. When we got him home with us, we've stuck to feeding only: Dick Van Patten Natural Balance grain-free kibble, Solid Gold Sun Dancer grain-free kibble, and now Taste of the Wild grain-free kibble, since we were trying out brands to see if there was a difference for Rocco. The ONE and only time he ate some kibble in our house that contained grain, his entire poop schedule was thrown off, as was his general schedule, therefore, and ours. Pain in the tookjes. We will stick to grain-free, as long as Rocco likes it and does well on it continually, even if it might mean we buy less human groceries to save cash. Edited February 6, 2012 by MomoftheFuzzy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest verthib Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 I concur with anyone who mentioned (grain-free) Taste of the Wild, as we are big proponents of a grain-free dog diet in our house, at least with regards to kibble and any wet food mix-ins (which we give, on occasion). I have found Rocco to do really well on grain-free foods, only. When he was in his foster home, he was having diarrhea issues, perhaps for other reasons, too. When we got him home with us, we've stuck to feeding only: Dick Van Patten Natural Balance grain-free kibble, Solid Gold Sun Dancer grain-free kibble, and now Taste of the Wild grain-free kibble, since we were trying out brands to see if there was a difference for Rocco. The ONE and only time he ate some kibble in our house that contained grain, his entire poop schedule was thrown off, as was his general schedule, therefore, and ours. Pain in the tookjes. We will stick to grain-free, as long as Rocco likes it and does well on it continually, even if it might mean we buy less human groceries to save cash. Which versions of those 3 brands have you used? (fish, etc) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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